Press Release: MTN Group today recognised employees in Uganda for their selflessness and dedication towards improving the lives of ordinary people, including the blind, as part of this year’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign, a popular employee volunteer initiative in MTN markets.
MTN Uganda employees rallied together to refurbish and provide equipment to ICT Hubs in five regions across Uganda. The “Rural Digitisation through Regional ICT Hubs” initiative will benefit nearly 100 000 people in the East, West, North, Central and South West regions of the country. A separate project focused on ICT for learners with disabilities has seen the installation of JAWS software on workstations at the Hornby Secondary School of the blind.
“MTN Uganda is a worthy recipient of this year’s Group President and CEO Award. I am confident that their exemplary Y’ello Care activities will positively impact thousands of lives in the five regions where they’ve been rolled out,” says Paul Norman, MTN Group Chief Human Resources and Corporate Affairs Officer.
The refurbishment of the ICT Hubs complemented MTN Uganda’s fully kitted, state-of-the-art internet bus equipped with 16 computer work stations, as well as access to high-speed internet connectivity. MTN Uganda also set up a Teachers’ Resource Centre and provided digital content to learners at the Uganda Technical Institute Kichwamba.
Gouldie expressed pride in his operation’s success. However, he noted that the prize is not about employees. “Our employees are being recognised for creating a platform to be part of the transformation of Ugandan society. MTN Uganda staff has fully embraced this campaign and it’s merely a bonus that we have been recognised. MTNers (staff) successfully collaborated across functions during the campaign, and were really committed to making a difference in their communities.”
MTN’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care employee volunteer programme takes place annually between 1 and 21 June across the MTN footprint in Africa and the Middle East. This year’s focus was on the digitisation of education. As part of the programme, employees use the 21 days in June to give back to their communities by raising funds and getting physically involved in community projects.
MTN Cameroon’s programme focused on the construction of classrooms to enrol the Central African Children refugees in Gado, East Region, as well as houses to accommodate teachers of a government high school in Manoka, Littoral region.
Overall, nearly 10 000 employees from 17 of MTN’s 22 operations participated in the 2014 Y’ello Care programme.
